Woman Charged With Driving Under Influence of Hand Sanitizer

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A woman who was charged with driving under the influence told police she drank hand sanitizer.

Updated at 1:29 PM EDT on Friday, Oct 12, 2012

A Connecticut woman who was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence told police she drank half a bottle of hand sanitizer, according to Middletown police.

Officers stopped Jennifer Amanda Wilcox, 36, of Middletown, around 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 5 after seeing her speed around the corner of Rapallo Avenue, spin out of control and almost hit another vehicle, police said.

One officer reported smelling alcohol on Wilcox.

At first, she did not admit to drinking, but then failed field sobriety tests, police said.

After being charged with driving while intoxicated, she admitted to drinking half a bottle of hand sanitizer, according to a report from police.

Police said her blood alcohol level was .1764 at 12:58 p.m. A second test at 1:29 p.m. was .1577, police said.

In other parts of the country, there has been a problem with teens getting drunk on hand sanitizer and getting ill.

When six teens in the Los Angeles area received alcohol poisoning by drinking hand sanitizer earlier this year, police told NBC Los Angeles that the practice could easily become a larger problem. Bottles of hand sanitizer are inexpensive and accessible, and teenagers can find distillation instructions on the Internet.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, police are asking retailers not to sell hand sanitizer to people who are already intoxicated because of deaths tied to consuming a toxic mix, particularly teenagers.

Wilcox was charged with driving while intoxicated and failure to drive right, released on a $500 non-surety bond and is due in court on Oct. 17.